Apparatus for feeding cutting tools



4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR H. K. BAKER APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CUTTINC} TOOLS Aug. 1 1950 Filed Sept. 9, 1944 NM wN MN Kw *N m w\ 5 NN MN M m Illl lllLlll U u w L n N @m M, L

E RM 4 .JM A I l Lulll H r w- HPH QM. N. W\\ om m MN mm w Aug. 1, 1950 H. K. BAKER APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CUTTING TOOLS Filed Sept. 9. 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 1, 1950 H. K. BAKER APPARATUS FOR FEEDING cumnc TOOLS Filed Sept. 9, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 lllllllIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIII lllllllllilllllllllll'lf 1 s Q\\\\\ INVENTOR T W/f H. K. BAKER APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CUTTING TOOLS Aug. 1, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 9, 1944 "ranged for revolving: in oppoS ii adii" tions.

Patented Aug. 1, 1950 ITED iSTAIES PATENT 0 F CE 2 516342 A AR TU E B NG ITIN s-TOQLS Fel e ee e ee t 'li ApplicationSepte mberi),194iSeriali ltlo., 553,432 r -.-This invention relates to apparatus .for inipartingtravel motion to machine carriages, slides .or spindle .quillsfor ,co-Qperative feeding action with cutting tools and it-hasparticular-reference to mechanism ioractuatingin sequence, change in the speed .of travel and reversing motion.

' Among .the more important objects of the invention are, .the simplification of apparatus ,withrespect to construction and maintenance; smoothness .of action to enhance operating 'eificiency; accessibility of the pertinent mechanism Jf 0r adjustment and changes to. vary iengths", of itravelwmotion and rates of feed in steps Of ex- ;tremelyfine degree.

iHow the foregoing objects and advantages, together with others which will occur to .Ithose l'skilled in the art, are obtained. willbev clear from the following description with accompanying drawings {which illustratethe preferred embodirmentiof-itheapparatus, andin .Which Figure--1 isfa viewtaken. from .the bottorn of the apparatus withthe lower portion of th holis- ..ing broken away.

- s g fgrring noyv. to the drawings the reierence C nniner a ls a and -2 indicate each of a pm offworms h,etxended lshaits lhavingv.thejs m l lead .of thread,. .which ,ar'e ,spalqe apart ndI 3ivvorrns. The revoiviifg iofworrn l' whileworfr'ri' '2 is hel d statio ar'y 'or'rotated'at newer s'p'eed Q eieel-91.

mounted v on and driving emph ciipsfl and 13., "st

1 respectively ar HT ,sljqapi ni ounted on 'tlieYfliltCh Eddie's 4""and 5 'ai i shipp'efs1eves13 and 24 respectively for aid-operative and" selective enga'grhent 'of 'diseiiga ment wi'th either the diivin'g'cliitfi cups er stationary driving 'clutch cups 'to in tfiinrVO1\'e"d1" holdsta'tidnary the sharts o' f' th'wormson which'these lutchbodies are inoiintdali d keyed tl'ireto. r clearly' shown in Figure 5, for the mounting and"securing"'of'stud '31 to spindle" q'uillc32fa 'oilar "3'5 i's'"'pi"ovided'thru which one end o'fthis stnd' extnds' and threaded" into the spindle q'u'flL' Hexagon s'h'oulde'r 38" of the stud is drawn clown tight against one end of this 'co'llai'ivith its other' end-vbearing" against recess "34 of' the spindle'jqiiili. ".This collar rides in sIot 36"ofit1ie housing T61 ldngitildihal tiav'el 0f the spindle q'ui11 with" the 'worm'ge'ar. spacing washerrao is'positioned on the "stud ag'ainsthekagori' s'ho'ulde'r 38 for worm gear'S to ride properalig'nl nt with theworms ifimesh'theieWith. Retain- "iiigi washer "411 holds' the worm gear on the stud I "2 is rotatedfvioi fn gs to resist thrust,"'andiis' secured in place-"against a shoulder of the stud by nut 42 which is locked by cotter pin 43.

With respect to the drive of the several shafts, a pulley 28 is mounted and keyed to shaft 27 for engagement with belt 29 extending to a power source (not shown) such as an electric motor. Gear 25, mounted and keyed to shaft 21, drives gear 2| whichis mounted and keyed on shaft I! for rotating gears l9 and 20 mounted and keyed on this shaft also. Gear 1!! drives gear 26 which is arranged for driving spindle 33 mounted in spindle quill 32. See Figures 1, 2 and 3. V

Spindle 33 extends out from the spindle quill 32 and has a bored socket 4'! with keyway 48 (Figure 3) for receiving the shank, of a cutting tool, a tool holder or a multiple spindle drill head (not shown).

The spindle quill 32 in its advancement toward work to be performed is required to first move at a comparatively fast rate of travel, commonly known in the art as Rapid advance. Then during the performance of the work moves at a slower rate, in conformity with the cutting .eifliciency of the tool, called Feed. Upon completion of the work, the spindle quill is caused .to' reverse its travel direction to its starting po- ;sition,'known as "Rapid return. I ,,This Rapid advance, Feed" and "Rapid return are sequence phases ofa reciprocating cycle. In the actuation of the mechanism embodied in this invention to obtain, Rapid advance of the spindle quill, first, the worm I is caused to re- Volve, thus driving worm gear 3, while worm 2 is held stationary which forces this rotating worm gear to move in a direction indicated by arrow 44 ata comparatively fast rate to compensate for the difference as to'speed of worm I relative to the negative operation of worm, 2. For Feed, at apredetermined point of travel of the spindle quill, worm 2 is caused to revolve also but at a somewhat slower speed than worm I, as determined by the relative pitch diameters of gears 20 and 22, thus changing the rate of travel of -this. .spindle quill in ratio to the'diflerence in relative speed of the two worms. Upon completion of the Feed? phase, worm I is caused to stop and held stationary while worm 2 continues to revolve which reverses the direction of travel motion of the worm gear (indicated by arrow 45, Figures 4 and 5) until the spindle quill reaches starting position thereupon worm 2 is also caused to stop revolving thereby holding worm gear 3 and consequently spindle quill 32 stationary until again repeating a reciprocating cycle.

To start the spindle quill travel at Rapid advance a double solenoid 50 (Figure 2) is provided and a push button switch (not shown) may be operated and thru 'wire 54 energize coil 50a of this solenoid, thus shifting forked lever 52 to engage shipper sleeve 23 of clutch body 4 with driving clutch cup l2 causing worm I to revolve. A rod 6|, secured to flange 49 of spindle quill 32 and movable therewith carries dog 55 adjustable as to position on this rod and held secure byset screw 63.

lxThe rate of travel to Feed from Rapid advance is changed at a predetermined point of travel of the spindle quill by dog 55 tripping switch 56 (Figure 3) and thru wire 66 energizes coil 5!!) of double solenoid 5|, thereby actuating forked lever 53 for disengagement of shipper sleeve 24 of clutch body 5 from stationary clutch 'cup 1 to engagement with driving clutch cup l3 to revolve worm 2 for cooperation with the revolving worm l.

As shown in Figure 2, a rod 62 is secured to flange 49 of spindle quill 32 and on this rod, adjustably mounted are dog 51 and 59 which are: held to position by set screw 63.

For reversing the travel of the spindle quill to' Rapid return, dog 51 trips switch 58 and thru wire 64 energizes coil 50b of double solenoid 50 for actuating forked lever 52 to disengage shipper sleeve 23 of clutch body 4 from driving clutch cup l2 for engagement with stationary clutch cup 6 to stop revolving and hold stationary worm 1 while worm 2 continues to revolve.

Upon reaching the end of the Rapid return travel of the spindle quill, dog 59 trips switch 60 and thru wire 65 energizes coil 51a of double solenoid 5| thereby actuating the forked lever 53 to shift shipper sleeve 24 of clutch body 5 from driving clutch cup I3 to engagement with stationary clutch cup i to stop revolving and hold stationary worm 2. At this point both Worms are held stationary and the spindle quill unoperative until again actuating the mechanism to repeat a reciprocating cycle.

The clutch assemblies employed in the structure disclosed herein are preferably of the multiple disc type with an adjusting ring 61 for-regulating pressure against the discs during engagement. In this manner, means are provided. for adjusting the pressure of engagement to such an extent that when a specific torque load is exceeded, thru overload as might occur by breakage of a cutting tool, the clutches will then slip and the mechanism advancing the cutting tool be retarded or stopped, thus preventing serious damage to the apparatus.

Adjustment to a predetermined length of travel of any sequence phase Rapid advance, Feed and Rapid return of a reciprocating cycle is accomplished by merely loosening set screw 63 of the pertinent dog causing actuation of the mechanism for the particular sequence phase of the reciprocating cycle to be changed and moving this dog on its supporting rod to position relative to the length of travel desired and secure thereto by tightening the set screw.

During all phases of an entire reciprocating cycle, the worm gear 3 continuously rotates in the same direction, whether driven by one or the other or both worms simultaneously. This action provides a uniformity of wear to these cooperating members for prolonging their life and smooth operation with neglible amount of shock to the apparatus during actuation of the mechanism for changing the rate of travel or reversing direction of travel of the spindle quill.

VariousfFeed rates of travel of the spindle quill 32 are obtained by merely replacingthe mating gears 29 and 22 on shafts l1 and i8 respectively with another pair of gears of a different pitch diameter relation corresponding to the desired change in Feed rate. This arrangement afiords a very fine adjustment, in steps, by tooth progression (less in one gear and more in the other), as a single tooth change in differential of each gear only alters minutely the Feed rate of travel due to the longitudinal travel of the worm gear being at a rate resulting from the lead of the worm thread multiplied by only half the difference between the revolving speeds of the two worms.

In comparison of my improved structure as dis,- closed herein with another, heretofore, employing for instance the well known feeding arrangement of a lead screw and nut, this prior arrangement 7 does not provide as fine a feed adjustment because oiithecratezerzthislongitudinalitravelianmst necessarilyrresult .fromithealead,of?the threadcas multiplied by thetotal difiereneeibetweenttlrezrevolvingrspeedsrof. the lea'd screwiandhnut, therefereg the stepsantfeedaadjustmentznecessarilyzhari tohfbfi .twicezas'rcoarse amprovided :byrthe rpresent invention 1 z -ether prior :feeding mechanisms employed-" cams :of 'variousixtyp'esa configured: or: "grooved: in relationztozthe' varied-sequence rates of travelrand reversingmotion desired :for'fithe specific cutting toot-1 employed; .However,. these. scam actuated:

mechanisms requiredthata@new-zicamdzemadezfor every: desired: change in:- Eeed? rate-:o'r lengthier travel, sandzfurther, a: large ,pcrtionsof .tne apmiratussha'd' at'obe disassembled and reassembled: for

comparatively cold, the feed ratewillfchangeasr the viscositypf the flu-id changeswithithe heat generated from the pressures involved thru usage. Besides l'iydraulic systems-aresensitive to foreign matter or sludge collectingdn the fiuidvme'dium overaperiod of time, thereforefthese hydraulic systems usually require frequent servicing- "to maintain:consistentFeed rates; v

Fromtlieforegoi-ng it will-be-"apparent the present invention yprovidessimproved means for obtaining extremely fine rates of Feed to meet the most{ exacting requirements 'ofrmetal cuttingtool's imrespect-toaccuracy and finislfin'the work performed. Finally-otheradvantages, as will be-observed from this specification, flow from the structure disclosed herein by the use of parts which have maximum strengthand life, assembly in a compact arrangement toconserve space and to further provide smoothness of operation with ease of maintenance and adjustment.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a spindle quill arranged for travel motion adapted to the feed of a cutting tool, two worms spaced apart in parallel relation, a worm gear operative between the worms and in mesh therewith, a stud secured to the spindle quill for mounting the worm-gear in cooperative association with the worms, a spindle rotatably mounted in the spindle quill for rotating a cutting tool, a pair of gears meshedtog'ether for revolving the worms at a relative speed of one greater than ,the other and means for driving said pair of gears and said spindle simultaneously.

' 2. In combination, a spindle quill arranged for travel motion adapted to the feed of a cutting tool, a spindle rotatably mounted in the spindle quill for rotating a cutting tool, two worms spaced apart in parallel relation, a stud secured to the spindle quill, a worm gear rotatably mounted on the stud between the worms and in mesh therewith, a pair of shafts drivingly connected to said worms, a pair of gears meshed together on said shafts'for revolving the worms at a relative speed of one greater than the other," an additional pair of gears drivingly connected to the spindle for rotating the spindle, and driving mechanism drivingly connected to one of said shafts, one gear of each of the said successive pairs of gears being mounted on one of said shafts.

to providerraipidatravel"or e33; nrmzconrbination aawframentwomormafiiowe nailed; irr'spaced :parallel: relationtini saidrframeai wormueearpositionembetweenatheaworms andim'a meslntherewithesaidworms:having shaftsextendt ing fromveachend ofzthevworm,thread stationarybrake/ cupsifixedlyvseeured tors aid; frame, .onea endr I'tll'it combination, a frame, .a. tooleholdirrga sli'de;.:means:foramounting and: guiding; saidsslide forrreciprocationrelativelyto said framagazpair'z or zwtorms-rotatably mounted in parallel-spaced relationshipiin saidframe, asupport: connectediltm saidlfslide aiwormigeanrotatably' mounted on saitt support :and disposed; between; said: -Worms(lint meshing?zengagenrent'ztherewith;.;:a pair of; worm; drivingrshafts, :mechanism drivinglydntercona nectingsaidxdrivingrshaftsefor rot'atiomin;=nppo-.-

site directions, a tool-holding spindle rotatably mounted-ion: said slide,:means"- for rotatingnsid spindle; and aclutcli device's includingiragpair stationaryf brake elements securedtoiisaid frame; saidac'lutclr devices?also.linclu'dingcmeanszsion 0011; nectingreacmof "said wormsselectrvely to; its-me spective" drivingshaft or tio'zits respectivevstatione-- ary: element wherebyl touseleetivelyihold either' fdfi said wormstst'ationary whilerotating therzothermrs totrotate bothaoffsa'id.Wormsisimultaneouslvcsoyis" feeding traveli oti-saidv tQOt-hOldilTg-ZSHCIGL 1 a. Inrcombination, a :fra-n'ie, 1a moi-homing slide,;means-;for mounting andguidingrsaid-zslidefer-f reciprocation: relatively. toisaidf frame; a pair ofr wormszsrotatably mounted-in parallel' spac'ew relationshiprin saidsframe, a supportconnedteditm said slide, a worm gear rotatably mounted on said support and disposed between said worms in meshing engagement therewith, a pair of worm driving shafts, mechanism drivingly interconnecting said driving shafts for rotation in opposite directions at different relative speeds, a toolholding spindle rotatably mounted on said slide and drivingly connected to one of said worm driving shafts, and clutch devices including a pair of stationary brake elements secured to said frame, said clutch devices also including means for connecting each of said worms selectively to its respective driving shaft or to its respective stationary element whereby to selectively hold either of said worms stationary while rotating the other or.

to rotate both of said worms simultaneously at different relative speeds so as to provide rapid travel or feeding travel of said tool-holding slide.

6. In combination, a frame, a tool-holding slide, means for mounting and guiding said slide for reciprocation relatively to said frame, a pair of worms rotatably mounted in parallel spaced relationship in said frame, a support connected to said slide, a worm gear rotatably mounted on said support and disposed between said worms in connecting eachiof (said .worms selectivelyrto 7 its respective driving shaft or to its respective static'n'ary element whereby to selectively hold either of said'worms stationary while rotating'the other or to rotateboth of said worms simultaneously so as to providerapid travel or feeding travel of said tool=holding slide, magnetically-operated clutch shifters operatively connected to said clutch bodies for shifting the same, and mechanism responsive to predetermined travel of said slide for energizing said clutch shifters. I

"2 'In combination, a spindle carrier arranged for travel'motion adapted to the feed of a cutting tool, two worms spacedapart in parallel relationship, a worm gear shaft connected to said spindle carrier to travel therewith, a worm gear mounted onsaidworm gear shaft tooperate between the worms and in mesh therewith for imparting travelsmotion to the spindle carrier, a spindle rotatab'ly'mounted on said spindle carrier for. rotating a:cutting tool, a pair of gears meshed together for revolving the worms at a relative speed of one greater than the other, and mechanism for drivin g saidpair of gears and said spindle simultaneously; v l 8. Int-combination, a spindle carrier arranged for travel-motion adapted to the feed of a cutting tool; two worms spaced apart in parallel relationship, a worm gear shaft connected to said spindle carrier to travel therewith, a worm gear mounted on said-worm gear shaft to operate between the worms and in mesh therewith for imparting travel motion to the spindle carrier, a spindle rotatablyrmounted on said spindle carrier for rotating acuttingtool; a pair of gears meshed together for revolving the worms at a relative speed of one greater, than the other, and mechanism for driving said pair of gears and said spindle simultane ously, and-a braking device selectively engageable with-one of said worms to halt the-same whereby to; halttone of said worms so as to impart a releaser Number 8; atively faster speed to the spindle carrier than the speed imparted thereto by the simultaneous revolvingof both' worms.

9."In combination, a spindle carrier arranged for travel motion adapted to the feed of a cutting tool, we worms spaced apart in parallel relationship, a worm gear shaft connected to said spindle carrier to travel therewith, a worm gear mounted on said worm gear shaft to operate between the worms and in mesh therewith for imparting travel motion to the spindle carrier, 'a'spindle rotatabIyLmounted on said spindle carrier for rotating a cuttingtool, a pair of gears meshed together for revolving. the worms at a relative speed of one greater than the other, and mechanism for driv-' ing said pair of gears and said spindle simultaneously; and a braking device selectively engageable with each of said worms to halt the same whereby to halt-either one of said worms so as to impart a relatively fasterspeed to the spindle carrier than the speed imparted thereto by the simultaneous revolutions-of both worms;

' HERBERT K. BAKER.

REFERENCES CITED 1 ""FOREIQN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain of 1911 Germany Jan. 31, 1930 niir'nter 

